Another Chance
by Scarlett 79
Summary: A Blair/Chuck fanfic that attempts to correct the Indecent Proposal storyline from season 3. The story takes place in the beginning of season 4 and starts off with the concept that Blair is becoming Countess Kishlovsky.
1. Atonement Complete

The story starts at the beginning of autumn 2010.

Additional Note: I have seen seasons 1 and 2, am in the process of watching season 3, and saw episodes 5-11 of season 4.

This fanfic will hopefully have two parts. Part 1 is called "Atonement" and Part 2 is tentatively called "Queen's Gambit"

**Part 1: Atonement**

**Chapter 1: Shattered**

It was all done in a smooth motion. Raise the arm, tilt the hand, and allow the warmth of the liquid to invade her body.

Blair Cornelia Waldorf started drinking at an early age. She wasn't an alcoholic, but she, like many of her friends, had considered herself above the normal rules of society and had begun drinking alcohol when she had started ninth grade. She did not drink with the purpose of becoming drunk and out of control but to express her superiority over her peers and her ability to stay in control. Tonight, though, she drank for the reason that she needed to escape.

Dorota was gone. Blair had dismissed her earlier in the week for three purposes: to give Dorota time to pack for the trip, and to be with her daughter and husband, and because she had wanted time to herself to think.

Ever since she had been a child, she had planned out parts of her life. She had known she had wanted to go to Yale because her father had gone to Yale. Columbia and Brown and the like were Ivy League schools, but everyone knew they weren't part of the Holy Trinity Ivy League schools. But then she had messed up. Royally.

Blair took another sip. The flames in the fireplace danced before her eyes.

She had fallen so off track in senior year. She had chased after a dream, only to have it thrown back in her face and told that she wasn't worthy. Spurned, she had turned her back on it and had thrown herself with renewed vigor at her life in Constance Billard. But things had changed. Her minions had developed their own minds and ideas, and they had grown bitter about the way they had allowed Blair to rule over them. Even worse, that new teacher had come to the school and had dared to change their way of being.

Rachel Carr.

The very thought of the name brought a scowl to Blair's face. How she hated that name! Yet, in a bitter twist of irony, how she identified and understood that person. Rachel Carr was more like Blair Waldorf than either of them would ever want to admit. Perhaps that was why Rachel Carr had been able to win, or bring to a draw, their war. It was because of her that Yale had discovered why Blair had been suspended and it was because of this that Blair was denied admission to Yale.

Another drink.

Her perfectly planned life had burned to ashes. Her dream to attend Yale had disappeared into smoke. Her father was disappointed and upset with her for the mistruth (which turned out to be the truth) that had ignited the full-out war with Miss Carr. It wasn't all Rachel's fault. Blair knew, though she hated to admit it, that she was also responsible for what had happened.

Another drink. But this time, in the corner of her eyes, Blair caught her reflection in the mirror. Slightly wobbly, Blair stood up from the chair.

"Weak," Blair snarled at herself. She hadn't always been like this. Blair Cornelia Waldorf used to be the woman that her friends could rely on. She was the one with multiple contingency plans. But then she had changed, and for the worse. She had allowed herself to open up to another, to rely way too heavily on him to be her everything.

Charles Bartholomew Bass. The name sent both chills and rage of fury down her spine. Was it fair of her to pin the mistakes of her life on him? Possibly. He was the one who had been so callous to her when she had reached out to him in the midst of his father's death during senior year. He was the one who had made her so angry with her personal life that she had thrown herself head first back into her life at school which was how she had lost control. In an attempt to regain her power and respect with her minions who had developed their own minds while she had been tending to Chuck, she had gone overboard in teaching Rachel Carr a lesson. And he was the one who this past spring... she couldn't even finish the thought. The memory was too repulsive.

Who was Blair Cornelia Waldorf? The girl who stood by her man and did anything he asked, including sleeping with his uncle to reacquire The Empire? Or was she the lady who valued herself and had at least a sliver of self respect?

Was she the girl who would perform a strip tease at a burlesque and then lose her virginity in the back of a limo that same night? Or was she the lady who Audrey Hepburn would have happily and proudly portrayed in a movie biography?

Her hand was shaking.

Was she the girl who had an eating disorder and needed her friend to support her through it? Or was she the lady who her friends could count on in their hour of need?

Was she an accessory to a man, any man? Or was she the lady who didn't need a man, whether it be Harold Waldorf, Nathaniel Archibald, or Charles Bass?

She was all of these things, no matter how contradictory it sounded.

She weakly caressed her reflection's cheek. The cold, smooth surface of the mirror mocked her. The mirror was perfect, flawless, whereas she was not.

There were things about her past that she could not change. But her future was still up in the air.

Her hand clenched tighter around the wine glass. With fierce determination, Blair defiantly smashed her wine glass against the mirror. Shards of the wine glass embedded into the skin of her hand.

But the mirror, although obviously breaking, was still intact. Her reflection mocked her still.

"Not good enough!" Blair exploded angrily. She turned around and looked for another weapon to use. Her eyes focused on the bottle of wine. She walked towards it briskly, and then, without a second of hesitation, strode back to the mirror and violently brought it crashing down. Her skin moaned in pain as pieces of the broken wine bottle tore into her skin. But victory was hers. The mirror was no longer intact. Pieces of glass were scattered on the floor.

"Bring it on," Blair growled at the remaining pieces of glass on the mirror frame. Nathaniel Archibald, Dan Humphrey, Jenny Humphrey, Vanessa Abrams, Headmistress Queller, Rachel Carr, Gossip Girl, Charles Bass and anyone else that had went up against her, and possibly won a few rounds, wouldn't defeat her in the end. And neither would seven years of bad luck. She was Blair Waldorf and she had been dormant for much too long.

She licked a trace of blood on her arm. The metallic taste of blood made her cringe. But she felt, for the first time in a long time, alive, free. The invisible bonds that had rendered her weak and powerless were finally being thrown off.

Blair headed towards the spiral staircase. She had a bedroom to redecorate.

**Chapter 2: The Ties that Bind**

Serena nervously paced around the room. It had been over half an hour since Blair had called and asked if she could sleep over for the night. This normally wouldn't have worried her, but, combined with what Blair had been doing in the past weeks, something in Blair's voice had just sounded off.

"Was her voice shrilly?" Chuck asked. His voice was smooth as ever, but there was an undercurrent of concern. He watched his adoptive sister fidget nervously. She was obviously fighting an internal battle with herself.

Serena gazed intently at Chuck's face. She had always had trouble reading him, interpreting his feelings and thoughts. A part of her felt Chuck was bad for Blair, that he stifled her and made her into a weak person. Another part of her felt that Chuck was good for Blair, that he brought out her caring and maternal side, sort of like how she herself did when she was fifteen years old and partying way too much with Georgina.

"I can't help much if I don't know what's going on," Chuck pointed out. "I can either do what my father did and get my private investigator to look into it, or you can tell me."

"That's creepy, Chuck," Serena said disapprovingly. She walked towards Chuck. At least he had the sense to send away Eva. A few weeks ago, Blair had attempted, but failed, to break up Chuck and Eva by revealing Eva's past of being a prostitute. But they had stayed together, and, this affected Blair in a deeper and more personal level than it should have.

"I think Blair's in trouble," Serena hesitated. "Kind of like in senior year when she started seeing Carter Baizen." And, just like back then, Chuck was the person Serena chose to seek help from. Nate, Dan, Eric- all of them back then and even now didn't seem equipped with the skills or talents to take care of Blair.

"Did that insect crawl back into her life?" Chuck demanded. His hands clenched in tight fists, and anger and revulsion filled his face. "Blair should know better."

"I didn't say he did," Serena corrected. "I said it feels like it. Blair, well, I think she's dropping out of school. Martha Chamberlain is one of her idols, someone she really looks up to. She's guest lecturing at Columbia this semester, and Blair registered for her class and everything. But she hasn't attended classes in the last two weeks and she doesn't seem to care anymore about school."

Chuck frowned, but said nothing.

"And Anne Archibald approached me," Serena added. "She wants me to try to convince Blair to take over as the face of Girls Inc, the charity she's in charge of. Apparently she asked Blair a short while ago but Blair turned her down. But we both know Blair wouldn't turn something like that down."

"Maybe I just didn't want to be involved with her or her corporation after she tried to whore out her only son to me," Blair snapped. She had heard only this last part of the conversation, and, to be honest, it didn't bother her that Serena was talking about it. What did bother her was that Serena was talking about it with Chuck. "You could have just asked me about it, just like Anne could have."

Blair pulled the strap of her shoulder bag off her shoulder and gripped it tightly in her hand. Chuck was staring at her intensely, and it was discomforting to say in the very least. "Chuck," Blair greeted curtly. "I didn't know you were living here again."

"He's not," Serena said. "He came by to pick up some papers for Bass Industries."

"And was Lily not here to pass it to him?" Blair asked. She walked towards Serena, an apologetic smile on her face. "You know I'm tired, right? I'm just going to head to bed if that's alright."

"Yeah, of course," Serena replied worriedly. Blair looked thinner than she usually did, as if she hadn't been eating or as if she had returned to her eating disorder from a few years ago. And the smell of alcohol was definitely surrounding her.

"What happened to your arms?" It was the first few words he said to her that night.

Blair frowned. She put her arms behind her and scowled. "I had an accident," she lied. "I washed it up and cleaned it up. Nothing big. But my place is a mess right now which is why I'm here. And I'm exhausted."

Serena took hold of Blair's right arm. She turned it so that she could see the sides. "Blair, that looks pretty bad."

"It's not bleeding anymore and I'm not in pain so it's no big deal," Blair insisted. She pulled her arm back and glared at Chuck. "I tripped and I fell and pieces of glass cut into my arm. It happens."

"You're lying." Chuck walked slowly, purposefully towards Blair and Serena.

"No, I am not," Blair denied hotly. "It basically happened that way." She looked towards Serena, looking for support. But Serena's eyes, furrowed together in worry, told Blair all she needed to know.

"I'm too tired to deal with this," Blair said flatly. "I'm going to bed."

"We need to talk," Chuck said softly. "We're worried about you, Blair."

"I actually think we should talk, too" Serena said slowly.

"Like an intervention?" Blair said with disbelief. "Are you kidding me? So I cut a few classes. So I didn't want to be Anne's girl. So I tripped and cut my arm."

"Several cuts and you reek of alcohol," Serena added.

"I've had worse things happen to me," Blair snapped. "If you really want to talk about it, how about we get the whole gang here? Let's get Nate to come over. Hell, get Lily and Rufus downstairs. I'm even willing to have Humphrey and Eva over. We can put my parents on speakerphone too so that they don't miss out on the fun." Blair defiantly crossed her marked arms in front of her. "Wouldn't that be fun, Chuck? We can discuss how I am, what I've been doing this past year, particularly in April." Blair glared challengingly at Chuck.

**Chapter 3: One Foot Back**

It wasn't hard for him to get inside the Waldorf penthouse. Knowing the right people, or in this case, the right maid, was all he needed. Chuck frowned at the sight before him. At least it seemed like Blair had been honest when she had said she had barely drank and most of the alcohol smell on her had been a direct result of her spilling it.

He carefully navigated his way through the mess in the parlor. If it wasn't cleaned immediately, word might reach Dorota and Eleanor what she had done. It was an unspoken rule that parents were considered as the last resort option. Parental intervention was needed and wanted only if friend intervention failed. Chuck kneeled down and started the slow process of cleaning the mess.

It was tedious. And not fun at all. Doing such a menial task was beneath him, but, for the moment, he took comfort that this task gave him time to think. He had given Blair the last round, allowing her threat to chase him from the room. There was something going on with her that she wasn't ready to share with him.

Chuck picked up one more piece of glass and gingerly put it on the coffee table. He looked upwards, his frown deepening. He quickly got to his feet, and, in an unusual fashion, went up the stairs two steps at a time. Chuck Bass was never- barely ever- in a rush. But a thought occurred to him and he had to see if he was right.

Her bedroom was in similar condition to the other room. Her mirrors were broken like the mirror downstairs. Clothes were left all over the floor. Chuck picked up a green blouse from the floor. It had several rips in it.

It wasn't any green blouse. It was the green blouse, the blouse that had ignited everything.

Many business men, especially those involved with real estate and construction, believed that small things and places needed to be destroyed in order to create something bigger and grander. The Brooklyn bar that Vanessa had wanted to save was a prime example of it.

Bart Bass had strongly believed in the notion of destroying insignificant things in order to create a strong foundation to build something grand. It was the way of business, the way to make a profit and build an empire.

She had thrown the gauntlet. And she had won this time. And it felt... bittersweet. Blair fluffed the pillow on her side of the bed. Serena was at the side brushing her long blonde hair.

Blair hugged a pillow tightly against her chest. "You know, Serena, I didn't come here because my place was a mess. That wouldn't bother me."

Serena said nothing. She continued brushing her hair.

"I came here to keep my promise to you," Blair continued softly. "The promise that I would never vanish in the middle of the night without telling you where I was headed. Remember?" It was a promise she had made in Junior year, a promise that had stemmed from the hurt that she had felt when Serena had disappeared and had fled to boarding school.

"I kind of figured you were leaving on a trip," Serena sighed. "There was no way you would have dropped Martha Chamberlain's class otherwise. Are you going back to Europe? Are you going to stay with your dad and Roman?"

"Europe yes," Blair replied. "Daddy and Roman, no." Blair pushed herself off Serena's bed and walked towards her best friend. "This is huge. Gigantic. You can't tell anyone. Well, eventually everyone will find out, but it won't be for a while."

"Okay," Serena hesitated.

"Dorota's parents passed away. Dorota and I are going to Poland tomorrow for the funeral. With her parent's passing, Dorota officially takes the title Countess Kishlovsky. But she left Poland decades ago because she didn't want that life. But with her parents passing away, if she doesn't claim the title, her horrible cousin will," Blair explained. "So Dorota's accepting her title. But she's also going to officially adopt me into her family- my mother's okay with it. And then Dorota's going to pass the title of Countess Kishlovsky to me effective immediately."

Serena was speechless. Her mouth was hanging open, gaping with shock.

**Chapter 4: One Foot Forward**

Blair quietly, slowly pulled the zipper closed. She glanced quickly at Serena's sleeping body on the bed. The woman could sleep through a 10.0 level earthquake. She hadn't stirred when Blair had gotten up, or when Blair had fumbled in the dark looking for her bag, or when Blair had taken a shower.

"See you later, S," Blair whispered softly. She pulled her bag higher up on her shoulder and closed the bedroom door behind her.

Blair took a tentative step towards her left, to head down the hallway that led to the living room which led to the doorway out. But she hesitated. Seconds ticked by, and then seconds became a minute. She turned her head to her right, to look at the door that was opposite of Serena's room.

There was a good chance he wasn't even in that room. This was Lily and Rufus's home, and although Chuck held a room here, he had always stayed at his penthouse in The Empire.

Blair reached out and twisted the doorknob open.

It was dark, but not dark enough. There was a light on in the corner, and there were documents spread out all over the table. Blair took a slow step into the room. She squinted slightly, wondering if the shadows in the room were of Chuck.

"Blair."

Blair's head turned instantly towards the direction of the voice. A shadow rose and walked towards her slowly, as if it were afraid she would retreat in fear if he came too fast. "I'm sorry about last night," Blair said hastily. "It wasn't my intention to threaten you. I was just tired and I didn't feel like talking. It seemed like the fastest solution."

Chuck emerged from the shadows. He was wearing the same clothes as he had been wearing the previous night, and there were shadows under his eyes. "God, you look like crap," Blair blurted out. She winced as soon as the words came out. "Sorry."

He still said nothing.

"Well, I have a flight to catch," Blair said awkwardly. "I'll see you when I get back."

He was fast, and his hands were icy cold. His fingers clenched her wrist tightly. "Are you really okay?"

She had seen those same tormented eyes in him only once before: when he had come to her room that night of her mother's wedding to Cyrus Rose. But, then, she had reacted with compassion, and had simply held him to show her love and support for him. Today, this morning, she felt nostalgic for a time long past. "I had issues that I dealt with last night," Blair acknowledged. "I'm getting better. And you? I thought Eva was making you into a better man."

"I am what I am," he said with a hollow smirk. "Chuck Bass."

A small smile formed on Blair's lips. "You really need to come up with a new line. That one is really getting stale."

"Do you ever miss us?" he asked huskily. It was subtle, but there was a faint trace of desperation in his voice.

"Do you?"

"Yes." His eyes were dark, but so was his soul. And so was she.

Blair stared into his eyes. They had changed so much in the past year. They had become caricatures of themselves. "I don't miss what we had become," Blair murmured. "I don't miss that at all, and, I guess to be honest, we're still recovering from it. But I do miss us- another version of us. Do you remember back in Junior year, when Serena first came back?"

Blair smiled, and this time it was genuine. "You were the only one I could really talk to. Nate and Serena always looked at me as if I were some weird five-headed dragon witch monster if I told them what I was plotting. I miss that. I miss us being us- scheming and making our plans to conquer the world. Or at least the idiots around us."

The laughter he emitted was also real, much like hers. "We did have our moments. Georgina, Gabriel, Poppy."

"Classic," Blair chuckled. "That's what I miss."

There wasn't much time- she had a flight to catch. Blair made her decision without allowing herself time to debate the merits of it. "I'm moving to Poland," Blair admitted. "Long story short, Dorota's giving me the title of Countess Kishlovsky. That's why I turned down Anne's offer to be the new face of her charity. And why I withdrew from Columbia."

"Poland," Chuck repeated hollowly.

"You're going to be here for me, right," Blair continued nervously. "You know, help me scheme and figure out the best way to seduce the court to fall in love with me. Serena wouldn't understand and she wouldn't be able to help me much. And, Nate, well, same. So how about it, Bass?"

She was giving him a chance to stay in her life, albeit a greatly reduced role as she reclaimed center stage in her life.

They had started off as friends. He had been Nate's best friend since childhood, and she had been Nate's girlfriend since their pre-teens. But she had chosen Nate as her boyfriend, chosen him to be the boy she would rule their school with. And Serena had fluttered around in her usual carefree style of life. And he had been at the background, doing what and who he pleased and flying under the radar beneath most people's level of vision.

"Only if you keep your role as my toughest critic," Chuck said, invoking a phrase he had used years ago. He had his own journey to undertake.

Blair nodded, smiling slightly. "Then we're agreed, Bass. I'll be your toughest critic, one of my favorite roles, and you'll be my co-conspirator and schemer." She gently twisted her wrist free of Chuck's hold, which had grown gentle, and slipped her hand into Chuck's hand.

Chuck took a step closer, so that his mouth was right next to her ear. "I'm really sorry for everything, for-"

Blair pulled back, her head shaking. "I don't need you to tell me things I already know," she said with a faraway look. "Let's just go from here. I'm Blair Cornelia Waldorf almost Kishlovsky, and you're Charles Bartholomew Bass." It took about six months for adoption papers to be processed. It could probably be done faster, but she was in no rush so she wasn't bothering to pull any strings.

And so their journeys began. Separate, yet together. She was headed to Poland to create Countess Blair Cornelia Waldorf Kishlovsky and he was on his journey to become the Charles Bartholomew Bass that his father would have been proud to call a son. But more importantly, the person that he always wanted to be.

**Chapter 4: The First Steps**

Italics are cell phone texting

_Make friends with the help. They see and hear everything. If they're against you, then you will never win people over. If they're for you, everything will fall into place._

Blair Cornelia Waldorf almost Kishlovsky was incredibly busy. When she wasn't studying the Polish language, both oral and written, she was either studying the Polish culture, or learning the names of the people in the castle, or immersing herself with the community. And by community, that meant everyone and everything from the upper class, middle class, lower class, pets and farm animals. Her dreams no longer consisted of Audrey Hepburn or the classic characters that Audrey had inspired. Her dreams were now filled with the endless line of people she had to meet, the endless customs she had to learn, and the endless language she had to master in both the spoken and written forms.

Blair had always been naturally intelligent. She had achieved high grades at Constance Billiard with relative ease. And because of this, she often had spare time to play around and manipulate those around her. Learning the language and culture wasn't really that hard. The problem hadn't been learning it, per se, the problem had been that Blair had wanted to master it all in a month.

Blair shoved the huge book about Polish culture to the corner of her table. She was tired of this and needed to relax.

Blair glanced at her watch. Nine am here meant it was three am in New York. There was a chance someone would be awake back there.

_I'm bored. I'm tired of studying. I miss everyone, even Gossip Girl. What's going on?_

One of the first things she had done was get a new cell phone and a new e-mail address. Well, technically, she knew she could always check the Gossip Girl website to see what was going on in the Upper East Side. But Blair knew she didn't have time to deal with the endless drama that ran rampant there. There were only five people that knew of her new phone number: Eleanor, Harold, Dorota, Serena, and Chuck. And of those five, she texted only one on an almost daily basis to discuss strategy and to complain about ordeals she was being put through.

_It's 3:15 am. What do u think I'm doing?_

Blair suppressed a giggle. _It's not a question of what but how many._

_0.__ I'm a changed man. New focus. How r u doing?_

Blair tapped her fingers on her Blackberry. She knew, via Serena, that Chuck and Eva had broken up, amicably, and that he was even lending, not giving, her money to enroll in a nursing program. According to Serena, Eva had refused to accept "free" money because a part of her felt like it would have been payment for services rendered. Chuck had never told her about this and it didn't seem like something she should ask him about. But he seemed to know she knew so it was just another one of those things that could be swept under the rug without getting into endless, pointless, discussion about.

_Dorota made it 2 EZ 4 me. She told every1 2 be nice 2 me. And they all 3 her, partly bc she chose 2 leave her life 2 become a maid._

_So "Mission: Make Friends with the Help" is a complete success?_

_Yeah. It's now Mission: Learn the Language and Culture. Taking 2 long. Annoyed._

_I thought u liked learning._

_I do. But it's not as fun when I'm not competing with people like Nelly Yuki._

_C__hcesz konkurować ze mną?_(Do you want to compete with me?)

Blair blinked several times. She wiped her Blackberry screen a couple times. Her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. She smiled, pleasantly surprised.

_Since when did u know Polish?_

_I'm just learning. I wanted 2 b able 2 yell back next time Dorota yells at me in Polish. Did Serena tell u? I'm auditing some classes this semester at Columbia. I might enroll next semester- most of the paper work is already done._

_Pulling Bass strings?_

_Ofc._

_Naprawdę, jestem dumny._ (Truly, I am proud.)

He didn't reply instantly this time. Blair suppressed a grin. She was sure Chuck was looking up the phrase online or in a Polish dictionary.

_Thx. U should come home & reward me._

Blair hesitated. _Send me the bill 4 ur next girl._ Friends only, she reminded herself firmly. _How's Empire going then? Can u run Empire and go 2 school?_

_I said I was a changed man. I'm getting it done. Saints and Sinners, btw, was a complete success. KC said she hated my Black & White Ball idea._

_Black & White Ball- not the image u'd want. Business went up?_

_High enough. I'm considering my next steps._

_What r they?_

_I can't tell u. U won't like it._

_How can I b ur toughest critic if u don't tell me? Tell me, Bass._

_Only if u tell me what __kocham__ cię means._

Blair began typing the answer but paused as she starting writing the third word of the three words, 8 letter sentence. _I don't know. U tell me what it means._

Alicja slowly walked in the room. She was the maid Dorota had favored and spoke the most highly of. She was the one Blair trusted the most. "Are you ready for the tour of the village? Maciek just arrived."

"Thank you, Alicja," Blair smiled, as she tucked her cell phone beneath her hands. "I will be right down." She watched Alicja walk away.

_U r lying. I know u- that'd be 1 of the first phrases u'd learn._

_Sorry- I have 2 go. I don't want 2 go._

_What r u going 2 do?_

_I have 2 meet and greet the people again. Poverty stinks. Gross. This is the real reason why Dorota ran 4 Manhattan. This part of the job sux._

_Still feeling like throwing up when ur there?_

_Yes._

_Imagine the grossest, sickest thing u've ever done. Is this as revolting as that?_

Jack Bass. Blair crinkled her face in disgust at the thought. Chuck, Jack, Empire.

_Thx. Now I feel doubly sick._

_No. What would u rather do? That thing 4 the rest of ur life or being immersed with the other people 4 the rest of ur life?_

_Hard choice. Really hard._

_Not helping?_

_Not at all._

_Remember that time in senior year when u wanted me 2 seduce Vanessa?_

_Yes._

_Remember I said I could do it but I didn't want 2 cause the reward sucked?_

_Yes._

_Remember what u said 2 make me do it? U offered me a better prize if I succeeded. Do that. If u can suck it up and look like u enjoy being there, then imagine a prize waiting 4 u at the end._

Blair thought about it. _Who's going 2 give it 2 me? U?_

_I'll take care of it._

_Do u even know what 2 send?_

_I'm not like Nate or ur mom. I know what u like._

_I'm holding u 2 it. Good night. Get some sleep. Thx 4 the talk._

_Have fun with the masses._

Blair smiled as she tucked her Blackberry into her purse.

**Chapter 5: Atonement**

Nate was bored. Really bored. He used his long legs to spin his chair in circles as he waited for the meeting to begin.

Serena laughed, amused. "Really, Nate?"

"Just bored," Nate replied. "And waiting for other people to get here. Chuck's in the other room talking to someone on the phone."

Serena dropped her bag on the table and saw down at a chair. "Well, I'm here now. Who else was coming?"

"No idea," Nate answered. He leaned over, his bangs falling gracefully to the side. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Have you noticed Chuck's been acting weird?"

"Yes!" Serena agreed. "Lily was just asking me about it yesterday. Did you know he was cooking, like actual cooking and not just ordering food? He even did the dishes and the laundry."

"He bought a car that wasn't a limo," Nate added. "And he's been getting driving lessons. There is something seriously wrong with him."

"He told me college diplomas were just accessories," Serena mused. "And he's now auditing classes at Columbia and planning on enrolling next semester."

"It's like an alien took over his body," Nate laughed. "He's pod-Chuck."

"Nate," Serena scolded, laughing.

"Maybe he's in withdrawal," Nate laughed again. "I bet he's going to ask me to return his little black book."

Serena scooted her chair closer to Nate. "I don't think he's slept with anyone since Eva. Maybe he needs some Drano again."

The reference made zero sense to Nate. "I don't get it."

"Hi Serena, Nate," Lily greeted. She nodded politely at her daughter and her friend. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Not long," Nate told her. "We were just talking and waiting for Chuck to finish his phone call."

"Charles," Lily marveled, "has really surprised me this past week. Rufus too. He's been trying out new things and it's just so refreshing that someone like him would try to learn how to cook and drive."

Serena snickered. Blair had told her of all the things she had known Chuck had experimented with. Besides various drugs and alcoholic beverages, there had been experimentation in the bedroom and with the male and female gender. Blair's story of the Freshman Toast and the game she had played with Chuck that summer and fall always brought a smile to her face.

"So what exactly are you doing?" Blair asked, concerned. "I don't understand why you can't tell me."

"Because it's something I know I need to do," Chuck told her. "And I can't allow you to talk me out of it."

"Well that's cryptic." They were talking over the phone, but he could hear and see her frown.

"Anyways, were you successful?"

"I was amazing," Blair bragged. "The newspaper article called me a compassionate human being worthy of the title Countess Kishlovsky." The frown transformed into a mile-wide grin. "Of course I wore really thick gloves the entire time I was in the trenches."

"So I owe you a reward now," Chuck commented.

"It better take my breath away," Blair said.

"It will," Chuck promised. "My meeting needs to starts now, unfortunately."

"I need to go too," Blair sighed. "It's a national holiday- Pope John Paul II Day. Catholic or not, I have to go to Church and pay my respects and give him due honor."

"Have fun."

"You too, Bass," she said as she hung up her phone.

Chuck lightly rubbed his thumb against the side of his phone. He really didn't have much time to waste, as his other guest was already in the lobby waiting for the appointed time to join the meeting. Chuck straightened his tie and jacket and slowly sauntered towards the other room.

Serena, Nate, and Lily were already sitting at the table. And they were talking and laughing, which was both a good and bad sign. Good because they were in a joyous mood and might be easier on him, and bad because he would have to kill it with his news.

"Hi Lily, Serena, Nate," Chuck greeted.

"Charles," Lily said warmly. "I was just telling them about the meals you've been cooking. And how wonderful it is to see you trying and learning how to do new things."

"And I was just telling them about your driving lessons and how I refused to let you use my car," Nate laughed.

"I'm just taking it all in," Serena grinned. "It's so fascinating, Chuck, to see this side of you."

"I'm just trying to become a new, better person. There's someone else joining us in a few minutes. I need to tell you all something before he arrives," Chuck said, his tone serious.

Lily exchanged a worried look with her daughter. Serena glanced at Nate. His smile had faded and his eyes had grown dark. "What is it, Charles?"

"First, Nate, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to move out of The Empire. You have until the end of the month, but the sooner the better," Chuck said.

"You're kicking me out?" Nate asked, his voice filled with disbelief. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No. I'm trying to correct a wrong." Chuck grimaced. He had debated it with himself for the past weeks. He knew he had to do this, but it didn't make it any easier. He had to keep his focus: he had to do this for her, for them. "I'm going to lose control of The Empire."

"The Saints and Sinners party was a success," Serena frowned. "Occupancy rates must have gone up by a lot. The Empire's doing better since you've returned."

"This past spring," Chuck began softly, "a lot of things happened. My mom came back to my life. There were the sexual harassment lawsuits. Jack came back. I lost control of The Empire to him but I got it back."

"I remember," Serena's frown deepened.

"This was when Blair broke up with me."

Nate's eyes widened with shock. He knew the story. Blair had confided it to him on the day of Dorota's wedding. "Chuck, you don't have to go into this."

"I do, Nathaniel. Jack told me he wanted what I had. And I had to make a choice. I could either let him keep The Empire, or I could-"

"You did not do that to Blair," Lily interrupted, horrified.

"I made the wrong choice," Chuck finished.

Serena stood up. She was shaking with anger, and her intentions were clear. She walked up to Chuck and slapped him hard across the face. There were so many things she wanted to scream at him. "You're the reason why her entire summer was ruined. Every single time she thought I wasn't looking, she was moody and upset. And the instant she met a guy that could have been something special, you popped right back into her life."

"Serena."

"She's one of us," Serena snapped. "You're not supposed to do something like that to your friends. She was your girlfriend!"

"Nate, please take Serena out now," Lily ordered politely. "I need to talk to Charles privately."

"Mom," Serena protested.

"I am his mother," Lily said, her attention still focused on her adopted son. "I will take care of the punishment." From the corner of her eye, she could see Nate pulling her sulky daughter out of the room. She waited until they had left the room.

"You know, Charles, you only need Blair's forgiveness. You didn't need to tell us of this." Her cold demeanor had dropped now that Serena had left the room.

"I did."

"No, you didn't. Was this why you were missing the entire summer? And why the girls found you pretending to be someone else?"

"I didn't want to be Charles Bass," he admitted morosely. "I wanted to be someone completely new."

"So you've already been punishing yourself," Lily remarked.

"It started out that way, but then it got complicated with Eva."

Lily nodded. "But you sent her away."

"It just wasn't right."

"I haven't seen Blair for a while. Serena told me she moved to Europe," Lily said lightly. "Are you two on speaking terms? I know you two were talking when you returned from Europe, but Serena told me something happened slightly after. She just never went into details."

"I'm working on it."

"That's good," Lily said encouragingly. "And you're losing control of The Empire. Are you giving it to Jack?"

"Yes. He's in the lobby. He'll be here soon to pick up the papers."

"You don't need to give him The Empire."

"I do, because that's what I should have done in the first place. I should never have offered Blair in exchange," Chuck said darkly. "It won't change the past, but at least it'll set things back on the right path."

Lily sighed. "I used to think what you most wanted to hear was for me to say you were exactly like your father. Farsighted. Intelligent. Entrepreneurial." She stood up from her seat and walked towards him.

"But I think what you most need to hear now is you're nothing like your father. He was cold, calculating, heartless in many ways. He would never have earnestly apologized for anything, even if he were in the wrong. He would never have tried to make amends. I'm proud of you." Lily lightly kissed the top of his head. "And Serena will get over it. She just needs time."

**Chapter 6: Adopted**

_What r u doing 2day?_

_Playing. Srsly. At 1 of the orphanages. Been a few hours already. 1 of these kids reminds me of u. I'm gonna give him a purple suit & tie & hair gel 4 X-Mas :)_

_Just what the world needs- another Chuck Bass._

_Adopt him, lol. What r u doing?_

_Reading._

_Gtg- almost dinner time and kids want 2 play b4 they eat__._

"Co to jest?" a small girl with light blond hair asked. She pointed at Blair's Blackberry. She had light freckles scattered on her face, and smudges of dirt on her arms. (translation: What is it?)

"To jest telefon komórkowy," Blair replied slowly as she struggled to remember some of the words. Blair showed her phone to the few kids near her. "Widzisz? Możesz wpisać wiadomości na jej temat." (translation: This is a cellular phone. See? You can write messages on it.)

"To jest niesamowite." (translation: That is awesome)

Without asking, as kids often do, one of the smaller boys took hold of the phone. He stared at the letters on the phone. Although he recognized some of the letters, the English words made no sense to him. "Rozmawiałeś twoja mama?" he asked wistfully. His own parents had died in a car crash and he had no relatives to take him in. "Tęsknię mama i tata." (translation: Were you talking to your mommy? I miss my mommy and daddy.)

"Nie, przyjacielu," Blair replied. She hugged the small boy tightly, and kissed the top of his head. Dorota had often did that with her when she was a child. "Let's go grać." (translation: No, a friend. Let's go play.)

Chuck Bass was accused of being many things by many different people: womanizer, playboy, filthy rich, deceptive, manipulative, cruel, decadent, debased, corrupt, lazy, morally bankrupt. Some of these words could also have been applied to his father, although his father's debauchery had been kept more private within the confines of the secret society.

He glanced down at the three files in his hands. They had been gathered by different private investigators. He had learned his lesson last time when he had allowed that one lawyer and Jack and Elizabeth to scam him out of The Empire.

But Andrew Tyler was the PI his father had favored most. And Andrew Tyler owed no allegiance to anyone, especially Jack Bass. And the other two PI's had also uncovered similar information, and they had been hired separately.

Three different DNA tests, three similar reports from three different PI's that gave the same result: Elizabeth Fisher was his biological mother.

It had been over two weeks since Chuck had cleared his conscience and accepted the consequences that could happen from his adoptive mother and her daughter finding out about what he had done the past spring. Lily, in Chuck's opinion, had been Ruffied and her display of concern and support had been a direct result of her husband's effect on her. Serena was still not speaking to him, but Nate was of the opinion that she was too busy with her cab guy boyfriend to think about it.

In the past two weeks, Chuck had abandoned the classes he had been auditing and had left New York to go to Los Angeles. Elizabeth Fisher was here.

He knew where she lived. He watched her get her coffee and do her morning and afternoon errands. He was, he knew, playing the part of a creepy stalker, something he hadn't done since senior year when Blair and Nate had started their road to reconciliation. But he wasn't stalking Elizabeth, his mother, for perverted reasons. He was stalking her because he lacked the courage or resolution to confront his mother.

What would he say to her? That he knew she was his mom after all? That after she had betrayed him to Jack, he had ended up shot and almost dead? That it would have been better if he had always thought she had died at child birth and if she had never come back into his life?

It was almost second nature now. He didn't even wait for her to say hello. "Elizabeth Fisher is my mother. She lied when she said she wasn't," he said the instant Blair picked up. "I had three different PIs look into it."

There was a pause, and he could picture her with an indignant scowl on her face. "Your mom's Lily."

"Blair."

"Elizabeth doesn't deserve any kids. These orphans are better off not having her as a mom and so are you. End of story," Blair said adamantly.

"Blair."

"What? She sold you out once to your dad. And with a horrible story. Died in childbirth? Wrecked your birthdays. She could have told your dad to tell you she died in a car accident when you were a baby but no she gave a stupid story to haunt you throughout your life," Blair said bitterly. "And let's not forget how she sold you out to that jackass."

"I don't have any more relatives for her to sell me out to. And Jack betrayed her too."

"That's called karma, nothing more."

"I think I'm going to go talk to her now."

"What do you mean now?"

"I told you, I had my PIs track her down and give me details and history." He should have done this before, but he had been too distracted with emotions. "I'm outside her home right now."

"Then tell your driver to take you back to the Bass jet and fly right back to Manhattan," Blair said tightly. "And either forget you know where she is or take Dorota there and sic her on that woman."

"What's the worst that could happen if I talk to her?"

"The fact you're even calling me and not just going in shows you don't trust her either- and for good reason. Just don't go. She's had twenty years to do something for you, and she never has. Why would she change now?"

Because they were both changing, and trying out things neither of them would have considered trying before. Because she was his mother.

"Chuck? Chuck? Are you going to talk to her?"

His mother who, like Blair had said, had done nothing to deserve another chance.

"No. I'm going home. Thanks, Waldorf."

There was the sound of a huge sigh of relief. "Good call, Bass."

But Chuck didn't go home. He sat there in the car for the next hour wondering what could happen if he went up to her and told her he knew she was his mother.

**Chapter 7: Almost Twenty**

Her first impression of him had been right on the money. Handsome, good looks, but boring as Hell. The only reason why she wasn't yelling in circles and screaming out in madness yet was because she decided to make the day into a Polish language lesson day. Every single boring sentence he uttered, she mentally translated it into its Polish phrase. She only had to throw in occasional words and nods to pretend she was keenly into their conversation.

Lord Marcus Beaton could make her go into a coma. The only reason why he had caught her eye the first time was because she had wanted a guy to make Chuck jealous. The reason why he had actually kept her interest was because it had turned out he was a lord, the son of a Duke

"Yes," Blair said with feigned interest. "The weather has been surprisingly warm." _Tak. Pogoda była zaskakująco ciepła._

Her twentieth birthday was coming up- tomorrow in fact. Her parents, Eleanor (with her plus one Cyrus) and Harold (with his plus one Roman) were initially coming to visit but she had insisted it would look weird for her birth parents to see her when she was in the process of being adopted into Dorota's family. It wasn't too unusual for them to miss her birthdays.

"Thank you," Blair smiled politely as Marcus handed her a flower he had just picked from the garden. _Dziękuję._

By now, all the invitations for her party would have been mailed out. She would have gone for a big classy party this year, considering she had decided to skip a party last year in favor of an intimate party with Chuck. It probably would have been held at the Waldorf's and she probably would have even invited some of Columbia's faculty.

"I'm fine," Blair said sweetly. "I'm not tired at all." _Czuję się dobrze. Nie jestem zmęczony w ogóle._

Blair resisted the urge to yawn in boredom. Initially, she had been ecstatic to hear that a British lord wanted to meet her. And then the excitement had turned to disappointment when she had learned the name of the lord that had wanted to meet her. He wasn't anyone new. He was just an old flame who refused to be passionate with her when they had been together yet he was more than willing to sleep with his step mother.

"Twenty," Blair answered. _Dwadzieścia._ Blair fervently hoped he wasn't planning on staying for the entire week.

"You're going to have to talk to him again at some point," Nate pointed out. "He did lend us his jet."

"It's Bass Industry's jet," Serena corrected. "And that makes it more my mother's than Chuck's."

"Until she eventually signs everything back to him," Nate replied.

"And he said in the past he didn't want it," Serena retorted.

"But considering he just gave away The Empire, he might want something to fall back on which would be Bass Industries." Nate picked up the wine bottle and refilled both his and Serena's glasses. "Besides, your mom said she didn't want it either. It's going to go somewhere. I'm telling you- Chuck is going to reclaim Bass Industries and use it to reclaim The Empire from Jack."

"I don't want to spend the entire flight talking about Chuck," Serena said disdainfully. "Can we please change the topic of conversation?"

"Fine," Nate grinned. "What did you get Blair for her birthday present?"

Serena smiled with excitement. "Best gift ever," she declared. "Do you remember Blair's prom scrapbook?" She got up from her seat and went to the side compartment where their smaller bags were being held. "I made her a scrapbook."

Nate snorted. "Oh my God, Serena, you've really been Humphrey'd." Making scrapbooks sounded exactly like something the Humphrey clan might do.

"I think it's gorgeous," Serena said defensively. "Blair's going to love it. Look, here's pictures of senior prom, of her birthday parties, Cotillion- everything she could possibly want." Serena handed Nate the photo album.

Nate looked at the cover and smiled. Serena had titled it as "Queen B- generations of breeding and wealth had to come together to produce her". On the front cover was a picture of Blair, with her tiara, from senior prom.

"Eric helped me make it," Serena admitted. "He gave me some of the pictures since I was gone for a year at boarding school and he gave me the pictures from the year she mentored for Cotillion." She and Blair had been fighting then, and she had also been too busy "working" with Trip to be at Cotillion. "What did you get Blair?"

Nate smiled sheepishly. "I really miss when she would tell me what to buy her," he admitted. "I don't ever know what to get her."

"So you got her nothing?" Serena frowned. "Nate, you know how Blair is with presents. She's worse than a little kid on Christmas."

"Oh, I got her something. You'll see it later when she opens it," Nate promised. "I don't feel like getting it out of the luggage."

"Just tell me what it is," Serena implored.

"A platinum bracelet with diamonds embedded. It's really simple but I think it's pretty. That's part of the present," Nate told her. "The other part is a heart pin. Remember the pin she gave me when we were kids?"

"The one she said represented her heart?" Serena laughed. "You guys were so cute with that. Blair made you wear it all the time and she yelled at you when it got dirty."

Nate grinned. "Yeah, that one. Well, I'm giving it back to her for her birthday also. I hope she doesn't get offended by it."

"Didn't you give it back to her that summer at the Hamptons?" Serena frowned. "I swore you did."

"I did," Nate nodded, "but then later on, in senior year, when we got back together, she gave it back to me again. I just never gave it back to her even after we broke up at prom. I was going to put the pin on the bracelet."

"That's a really sweet gift," Serena approved. "If you had gone with just the bracelet, that would have been nice. The pin makes it sweet and sentimental."

"You like the gift then?" Nate smiled.

"Very much," Serena laughed. "See, you don't need Blair to tell you what to get her."

"And what if I said this gift wasn't even my idea?" Nate chuckled. "Because it wasn't."

"Don't tell me you asked your mom," Serena groaned. "Nate, that's really sad. You know you can ask me, right?"

"It wasn't my mom," Nate smiled, embarrassed. "He-who-must-not-be-named helped me."

"Wait, who," Serena laughed. "Who's that?"

"Think about it. Who did you not want to talk about earlier?"

"Chuck?" Serena laughed loudly. "Seriously, Nate, you had to go to Chuck for advice on what to get her?"

"It was a couple weeks ago, right before he left on his trip," Nate said. "He asked if I had gotten her anything yet and then we went shopping."

"That's so pathetic."

"No, you know what's pathetic? That you haven't spoken to Chuck since he told us what he did. That I have to play the go-between for the two of you."

Serena looked up, laughter dancing in her eyes. "Really, Nate?"

"You're going to have to forgive him sooner or later," Nate pointed out.

"Nate, you're talking to me, Serena. I don't hold grudges. I might have temporary wars with Blair, but that's about it."

"You're not mad at him?"

"Nate, I've known about what he did since the summer when Blair and I first went on our trip. Even when Blair was pretending she didn't care if he and Eva disappeared to India or whatever, I was the one that convinced her to go after him and convince him to stay in New York. I wasn't really that mad when he 'first' told me," Serena revealed. "Look at how many pictures of Chuck are in that album. If I was mad at him, there'd be more pictures of Dan than him in the album."

"Then why'd you slap him and go into that tirade that day?"

Serena grinned. "Because he deserved it and you know it. I'm just nowhere near as mad as I pretended to be. And, besides, it makes the perfect Christmas present for the guy that has everything. Give him the gift of forgiveness."

**Chapter 8: Two Decades**

Yesterday, she had been sure this would be one of the worst birthdays ever. Her seventeenth birthday, although she had initially considered it her worst at that point, had turned out to be one of the better ones. Yesterday, the only prospect she had for companionship were the servants, the few delegates that traveled back and forth between regions, and Marcus. Today, she also had Serena and Nate.

"You look beautiful, B!" Serena squealed. She hugged her best friend. "Happy twentieth birthday!" She hugged Blair tightly.

"S!" Blair screamed, her face filled with surprise and joy. Even countesses in training had to be allowed to be happy and excited when their friends visited.

"Blair!" Nate roared, his arms opened wide. "Happy birthday!"

"Oh my God! Nate!" Blair shrieked. She ran towards him, laughing wildly.

"Blair, only because it's your birthday, I won't yell at you for not telling me you were moving to Poland."

"Hi, I'm Serena, I don't know if you remember me," Serena said politely to Marcus.

"Oh, I remember you and Nate," Marcus answered. He smiled courteously.

Blair glanced towards the door Nate and Serena had entered from. She looked back with slight confusion at Serena and Nate. "Where's Chuck? He didn't come for my birthday?"

"Ask Serena," Nate shook his head.

Serena smiled innocently. "I'll tell you all about it later, Blair."

Blair glanced back at the table behind them. "I hope Nate survives," she laughed. She grabbed Serena's hand. "Come on, I have to show you what I got last night."

"Sounds promising," Serena grinned. "And I'm really sorry about Chuck. Who would have thought I'd be able to trick everyone into thinking I really was mad at him. Everyone says I have the worst poker face ever."

"It's okay," Blair said semi-grudgingly. "I'm sure he would have come regardless if he thought you were upset with him. He was just busy." She opened her bedroom door and pulled Serena inside.

Serena sat down on the bed and looked around. "Blair, this room is incredible! The entire place is."

Blair picked up an envelope off her desk and pulled a sheet of paper out of its envelope. "Louis Grimaldi wrote me," Blair said excitedly. "He said he heard about me coming here and that he was very happy to hear I was back in Europe. He wanted to come and see me right away but was held back by business. Serena! He's going to come and see me next week. He said he'll bring me back my shoe!"

"It's your Cinderella fairytale!" Serena gasped excitedly. "Blair!"

"I know!" Blair exclaimed. "We started off badly. Well, that was all my fault, but I think we had a chance."

Blair put down the letter and picked up the photo album scrapbook Serena had given her. "I want to look through this more," Blair said. She gently dropped the album onto her bed, and then sat down next to Serena.

"Shouldn't we go back to Nate and Marcus?" Serena chuckled.

"I've spent the last few days with that bore," Blair rolled her eyes. "I deserve a break and I'm sure Nate can handle him for at least one hour. Do you have any idea how hard it is to not be myself?"

Serena raised an eyebrow.

"The old me would have thrown him out already," Blair explained. "Or at least have spoken the truth and told him how he's so nauseatingly boring. Which, by the way, I did tell him before. The old me would never have touched, without gloves, homeless dirt-stricken people. OMG, Serena, you cannot believe how repulsive it was."

"I've seen the pictures," Serena said, laughing. "And I was very impressed at your ability to keep your gag reflexes in check."

Nate glanced in the direction Blair and Serena had headed. This was his twelfth time looking there. Marcus was equally uncomfortable and kept looking down the same way.

"So... how is your mother?" Nate asked weakly.

"Oh, she's fine, thank you," Marcus said stiffly.

"He did not," Blair said with disbelief. "Chuck Bass does not cook, drive, wash dishes let alone do the laundry."

"That's what Nate and I said," Serena agreed. "He's like Pod-Chuck ever since you left. It talks like Chuck, walks like Chuck, but doesn't do anything like Chuck. I don't even remember seeing him with any girls since Eva."

"Not," Blair gasped. "Do you think he's having mechanical problems again?"

Serena laughed out loud. "That's what I said to Nate."

Blair looked down at the bracelet on her wrist. Nate had given it to hear earlier in the day. The small gold heart pin she had given to him so many years ago was linked up to the bracelet. "I guess we should go back to Nate. And Marcus, ugh. You know, Serena, I don't know what's more boring: Marcus or Vanessa's stupid documentaries."

**Chapter 9: Bridges**

Bart Bass died on December 7th, 2008. At that time, Jack Bass had been in Australia operating his hotel. But he hadn't been alone. He had a dirty little secret, but he wasn't too worried that his big brother, Bart, would find out about it.

Elizabeth Fisher had been living with him.

The news of Bart's death had spread like wildfire. Elizabeth had been shocked, and upset, and had been worried about her son. But Jack had been anything but upset. He was excited, sure that his banishment to Australia would come to an end and that he would be the new person in charge at Bass Industries.

Elizabeth and Jack had fought and fought and fought about Bart and what his death would mean. And, finally, she had left him. Shortly after, Blair Waldorf came to him, seeking assistance in any form to find Chuck Bass. It had been two lonely, desperate souls that New Years. One soul had been heartbroken, desperate to find someone she was sure was in the process of doing irreparable harm to himself. The other soul, if it could be called a soul, was finally tasting everything that he had wanted but had been denied. He was getting Bart's empire. He had Bart's ex-girlfriend, aka Chuck's mother. And now he was getting Chuck's girlfriend.

Jack went on his quest to find Chuck. And he had been successful. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Fisher was getting news she had heard only once before: she was pregnant.

Elizabeth had moved to Dallas, and, in August of 2009, gave birth to a son. She named him Jackson, for obvious reasons, and put him in an orphanage and never looked back. She moved to Los Angeles and tried to forget about Bass men and their effect on her. But then Jack had come for her. He said he wanted her back and that he was sorry.

And then she had allowed him to convince her to scam her eldest son out of his hotel.

Andrew Tyler finished the last of his report and attached the photo of Jackson Doe at the end. He had been the only PI who had discovered this piece of information. Elizabeth Fisher, aka Evelyn Bass, had continuously changed her name in those few months that she was pregnant. On paper, it had seemed like Elizabeth Fisher had moved to Los Angeles right after she had left Jack that first time. But there was something off, and, with a considerable bit more digging, Andrew had been able to get to the truth.

In the Shady Brook Orphanage, there was a fifteen month old baby named Jackson Doe who was both a half brother and cousin to Charles Bass.

_A week later..._

Blair was annoyed. It had been two weeks since her birthday and Chuck still hadn't said anything to her. She hadn't said anything to him either, but that was besides the point.

Louis was much more charming and interesting than Marcus, but he just was not enough. It wasn't that he was boring like Marcus. She didn't have to pass her time with him by practicing her Polish language skills. It really wasn't anything about him. He was just not what or who she wanted to be spending her time with.

Blair lightly fingered the gold heart pin that was on her bracelet. She could count the number of men she had been physically intimate with on one hand: Chuck, Nate, Jack, and Carter. Four. Her number was that low. Of the four, she had slept with two when she had been in love with them, and three of them as a means of revenge or when she had been on a downward spiral to Hell or when she had been desperate to find someone else.

As for guys she had dated, including one night stands, the number increased slightly: Nate, Chuck, Marcus, Jack, Carter, Cameron, and Louis.

She was just too heavily influenced by her parents. Her parents, for the first sixteen years of her life, had been happily married. She had been influenced by them whereas Serena, whose mother had been married several times, partied and dated tons of different guys.

"So what are your plans?" Louis asked.

"I'll go back to America when the adoption papers finalize," Blair answered. "Probably stay there for a while and earn my college degree. I'd feel incomplete without one."

"And the summer?"

"Summer school," Blair sighed. "I've lost an entire year of school." Of course, even if she had lost a year, she and Serena would still be at the same spot credit wise and could graduate together.

"Oh," Louis said, his voice dropped and disappointment crept in.

Blair turned, and there was a wistful smile on her face. "We need to talk." Louis was too nice of a guy to not be told the truth.

**Chapter 10: Inevitable**

The pink peonies had been the first clue. No one in Poland knew those were her favorite flowers. The lack of voices in the house was the second clue. Blair looked around. Alicja had told her one of the emissaries had invited her for dinner here, but that had obviously been a lie, albeit a good natured one.

Blair walked in slowly, deliberately. Her heels made soft click noises as she walked across the hallway. The aroma of roasted turkey filled the house.

Chuck was standing near a table, lighting candles. "Happy Thanksgiving, Blair. You said you couldn't come home for your birthday or Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd bring Thanksgiving to you."

Blair took a sip of champagne. It was '95 Dom, one of her favorites.

"So in the past months, you've learned how to cook-"

"Not really," Chuck interrupted. "The few times I cooked food, people who ate it ended up with food poisoning." He laughed. "I felt really bad for Eric."

Blair threw a glance towards the kitchen where the food was still cooking.

"Not my cooking so you're safe," Chuck assured her. "My job was to turn the stove on and off.

"Okay," Blair smiled. "And you've been doing the dishes and doing the laundry."

"Just to keep Dorota company," Chuck swore. "Unless, of course, you think I had some hidden agenda and I was just trying to get information from Dorota or get her to like me."

"And you learned how to drive," Blair laughed. "The Chuck Bass I knew would prefer to be driven around in a limo so that he could divert his attention to other things in the back."

"And that is still my preferred mode of transportation," Chuck claimed. "But sometimes it's easier to be following people when I'm on my own."

"So you became a spy too," Blair marveled. "You have been busy. So who have you been spying on?"

"You know already- Elizabeth," Chuck said lightly.

Blair's smile faded away. "Did you talk to her after all?"

"No, I didn't," Chuck said slowly. "But let's not talk about that. I'm really sorry I missed your birthday."

"Nate and Serena kept me company."

There was a slight pause.

"Did they tell you I gave The Empire back to Jack? I told them not to, but they might have slipped on it."

"You what?" Blair said, horrified. "Why would you do that? Why would you let him win?"

"It wasn't right. And we both know we lost that round and he won that round. I had to fix my mistake," Chuck said slowly. "I should never have sacrificed us, you, for The Empire. I want us to have a second chance."

"A second chance," Blair breathed. "At what?"

"At getting The Empire back from Jack. But we'll do it right this time. We won't lie to each other or manipulate each other. The only one who'll get played is Jack."

"Oh."

"But before you decide if you'll help me with it," Chuck added, as he reached into his coat pocket, "I should give you your birthday gift." He handed Blair a small, familiar box.

Blair opened it. It was _the_ ring.

"It's not an engagement ring," Chuck said softly. "I wouldn't give you that as an engagement ring after all it went through. Think of it as a promise ring. I promise that I'll do it right this time. If you're willing to give it another chance."

_Inevitable._

The word was engraved inside the ring's band. That was new.

Blair looked up, a teasing smile on her face. "Is that it? Do you have anything else to say?"

"Three words, eight letters? You said I don't have to say things you already know."

"I changed my mind," Blair smiled. "And, after all we've been through, I really don't anymore. And I need to hear you say it."

There was a smile to his lips. "I love you," he said simply. "I mean it with all my heart."

"I love you too," Blair whispered, her lips moving towards his.

_I don't want this moment to ever end_

_Where everything's nothing without you_

_I wait here forever just to, to see you smile_

_'Cause it's true, I am nothing without you_

_Through it all I've made my mistakes_

_I stumble and fall but I mean these words_

_I want you to know with everything I won't let this go_

_These words are my heart and soul_

_I'll hold on to this moment you know_

_As I bleed my heart out to show and I won't let go_

The turkey had burned, the mashed potatoes were ruined, the vegetables turned to mush, and only the pumpkin pie had survived. But everything was still perfect.

The sleeping couple had finally reached the inevitable- back together in each other's arms.

Author's Note:

"With Me", the song I used in Chapter 10, is written by Whibley, Deryck Jason and belongs with the group Sum 41

I still haven't seen season 3 episodes 16-22. I will watch them eventually. I haven't seen the first few episodes of season 4, either, which is why I hadn't known that Serena did know about the indecent proposal. I had already written that chapter up and I didn't feel like massively changing it so I tweaked the Nate sections (who I also didn't know already knew) and tweaked the Serena section later on.

I got really lazy at the end and didn't feel like writing this story anymore (chalk it up to ADD) so I wrapped up parts of it really fast. I was going to give Louis and Blair a longer story development but meh. And I'll leave the unwritten parts of Chapter 10 to reader imagination as that'll certainly be better than anything I can write with words.

Speaking of which, I know I set up a story for the sequel where Chuck and Blair attempt to regain control of The Empire. I don't know when I'll get around to it. Hopefully the rest of season 4 will inspire me.

I hope you all enjoyed this. This fic started off really light and fluffy and then I had a mood change and rewrote it and made it darker. Well, only the first chapter came out dark. The rest came out much lighter in comparison.

Cheers.


	2. Queen's Gambit Prologue

Part 1 was titled "Atonement" in reference to the Indecent Proposal

Part 2 is titled, "Queen's Gambit" which is in reference to a chess move where pawns (or other minor chess pieces) are sacrificed so that the player can obtain a better strategic position.

I wrote out all of part 1 and then posted it. This will not be the case for part 2. Part 2 will be posted in pieces as I write out each chapter.

The prologue here is the same teaser prologue I posted before at the end of part 1.

I hope you enjoy the story. Reviews are greatly appreciated.

**Prologue**

Countess Blair Cornelia Waldorf Kishlovsky was having a Hell of a year. If she had ever been jealous of her best friend's impact on society, she no longer had any right to complain of her lack of the spotlight. The spotlight was always on her now. She was the American girl made into a countess. She was the American girl made into a countess who had the heart of the son of a British Duke and Duchess. She was the American girl made into a countess who had the heart of the son of a British Duke and Duchess and of a French prince. But she had rejected both, surprising the media and the rest of the population, to claim her side at one Charles Bartholomew Bass.

Their tumultuous and long-distance love affair was often speculated upon by the media. She was taking classes at Columbia, and was bound to stay within New York. He was the head of a billion-dollar real estate industry, and was often traveling throughout parts of the world in his quest to increase the Bass Industry Empire.

And the gossip began. In the daytime, he was all business. But in the nighttime, he was all about entertaining and keeping investors interested and happy.

Pictures surfaced. Apologies were uttered time, and time again. And gifts were presented again and again. And a gracious countess took back the man who had betrayed her again and again.

But then the video had turned up. Not any video, but a sex video. He claimed it was fake, and it wasn't of him. But she had had enough.

The fairytale couple of Countess Blair Cornelia Waldorf Kishlovsky and Charles Bartholomew Bass, finally broke up. And then the mud-slinging began. She was the media's darling. But, even so, the cruel words she had blasted at her ex- also hurt her own profile. He had blasted back with his own hurtful words and accusations of her being a gold digging social climber.

Blair needed a new tactic. She couldn't allow her reputation to be tarnished any longer. And that was why she had requested a meeting with Jack Bass.

"I won't lie to you," Blair said honestly. "I hate you. But, I hate Chuck even more. I hate him so much, it consumes me. Every nerve ending in my body is electrified by hatred."

"Admirable," Jack said, lifting his glass. "And something I can sympathize with. So what are you looking for, Countess?"

"Blair," she corrected. "Call me Blair. And, simply put, I am looking for a way to hurt him."

"So you're looking for an ally."

Blair shook her head, her eyes steadily on Jack's. "Not quite. I was thinking more of a husband. How about it, Jack?"


	3. Queen's Gambit Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_October 2011..._

Blair accepted the offered hand, and gracefully stepped out of the limo. Hundreds of cameras snapped away, and she happily posed and smiled for them. She hadn't grown tired of this yet. Blair waved and blew kisses into the sea of flashing lights.

She was brought back into harsh reality when Jack's arm slid around her waist. "You're sure my nephew will be here?" he whispered into her ear.

"He loves Lily," Blair muttered under her breath, all the while smiling. "Of course he'd be at her wedding anniversary party. Remember our ground rules, Jack. Your hand should be in the region below my chest and above my butt. So move your hand up **now**."

"I thought you wanted this to look realistic," he sneered back.

"How realistic would it look if I threw up on you?" Blair snapped back softly. "Move your hand now."

His hand complied and moved upward by a couple inches.

"Only time your hand can go there is when Chuck is right next to us," Blair said, her eyes blazing. "We won't stay long. We're just going to stay long enough so that he sees us together and then we'll leave."

Blair flashed one last smile to the crowd, and, with Jack in tow, entered the doors to the Palace Hotel.

This was not the worst thing she ever did, pretending to be someone's girlfriend to hurt someone else. She's done so many horrible things, that it was literally impossible to count it all up. She had made Serena Van der Woodson's life a living Hell when Serena had returned from boarding school. Whether or not it was justified was besides the point. She had treated Jenny Humphrey like dirt and had played a titanic role in corrupting her. She had spread rumors (which later became true) about Rachel Carr and Dan Humphrey. She had slept with Carter Baizen partly to get revenge. The list was endless.

And now she could add this to it. Attending her BFF's mother's wedding anniversary party with the man who had attacked her for the sole purpose of hurting Chuck.

Serena, Nate, and Chuck were standing together near a table. Jack nudged Blair gently with his elbow and, with his chin, motioned towards the small group.

Blair turned and looked over in the direction he had pointed. Her eyes narrowed. She reached behind and pushed Jack's hand down a few inches. A determined, forced smile appeared on her lips.

Serena was the first to see them. "Blair!" she gasped, glaring at Jack. "You can't bring _him_ here. This is my mom's party. You know how she feels about him." Serena hated that she was being forced in the middle of Blair and Chuck's feud yet again.

"We won't be here long," Blair promised, her eyes trained on Chuck. "In fact, we're about to leave. We're going to go to Victrola and I was going to dance for Jack."

"Blair, that's not the type of place you should be going to," Nate said nervously. "C'mon, Chuck, let's find Lily and Rufus." He grabbed Chuck's arm and tried to pull him along, but Chuck refused to move.

"I know you're just mad and hurt over what I did," Chuck said softly, as he walked towards Blair, closing the distance between them. "But Jack? That's low. You're hurting yourself more than you're trying to hurt me."

"Your sluts in Europe hurt you more than they hurt me," Blair snapped back angrily. She stepped up towards Chuck, leaving Jack's embrace. "And just how many STDs did you get from them? I hope they're painful and not curable."

"Nothing could be as painful as living with you and hearing you whine about not being introduced to the right people," Chuck retorted.

"You want to talk painful?" Blair growled. "How about living with a man with mommy and daddy issues? Do you make your sluts dress like Lily? Do you call out Lily's name when you're screwing them?"

"You make me sick," Chuck snarled back. A devious glint came to his eye. "You make me want to throw up. But you know all about that don't you, Blair. How's your diet?"

"Oh crap," Serena breathed.

Blair's head twisted to the left. She glared accusingly at Serena. "How's your liver? Are you still drinking yourself to death? Too bad no one can ever love you and no one will ever give you parts of their liver once your liver dies."

"It's a good thing that money solves everything then," he snapped back. "And the one thing it couldn't solve for me, you were more than willing to step up to bat."

Blair gasped and recoiled with horror. "You're a Basshole!"

"This has gone long enough," Serena muttered. "Come on, Blair, let's go. The two of you need to go back to your own separate corners."

The words would not come to her. But she didn't need words. Blair grabbed Serena's glass of wine and, smiling sweetly, raised it above Chuck's head and tilted it sideways. "You look thirsty, Chuck. Here, have a glass on me. In fact, have two." She snatched Nate's glass and added it on.

Blair wiped some of the wine off Chuck's cheek with her finger and put it in her mouth. "Mmm, yummy. Red wine on a chicken. Tell Lily and Rufus they have exquisite taste."

"Blair," Serena winced. She pulled Blair back, and this time Blair didn't resist.

Blair raised her eyebrows at Chuck, challenging him to add more to the fire. She tilted her chin up defiantly.

"Chuck, don't cause an even bigger scene," Nate ordered. He wedged his body in next to Serena so that both he and Serena stood between the bickering couple.

"Blair, you're coming with me to see my mom and Rufus. You are welcome to stay for the party but you will be on the right side of the room all night and Chuck will take the left side. Nate, take Chuck to his room and help him clean up and cool off. Jack, walk yourself out or I will get security here to walk you out," Serena said, her voice filled with impatience. She didn't even wait to see if they followed her orders. Serena firmly put her hands on the back of Blair's shoulders and guided her to the far side of the room.


	4. Queen's Gambit Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Blair, wait up!" Serena called out, annoyed. She was taller than Blair, and, with that height advantage, had longer legs which could cover distance much faster than Blair could.

But Blair had the other undisputed advantages. She knew where she was walking and knew when to turn and what hallway to walk through. She was also shorter so she didn't have to duck as much as Serena had to. Blair was navigating her way through one of the kitchen areas of the hotel while Serena was following in her footsteps. Chefs, waiters, busboys, and food carts occasionally got in the way and Serena had to offer apologies for her and Blair's intrusion.

Blair turned one final time and smiled triumphantly when she saw the service elevator doors. She pressed the up button. "Lily looked impeccable, as always," she said as Serena approached her. "Rufus, well, at least he's trying."

"B," Serena said slowly, "Chuck didn't mean those things. You know that. He's just upset and hurt." Serena gently patted Blair's arm. "Are you alright?"

Blair sighed. "I'm fine," she promised. "I knew we would fight."

The elevator finally arrived, and, without another word, Blair stepped in. She pressed the button for the 49th floor. Serena followed in wordlessly.

"You and Chuck need to work out a peace treaty," Serena said softly. She smiled weakly at her friend. "The two of you have nuclear capabilities. Nate and I talked about it. If the two of you don't find a way around your problems, there's going to be nothing left but cockroaches."

Blair snickered. "S, I love you, and I know you love me and you're trying to look out for me, but, believe me, a peace treaty is the last thing Chuck and I want or need. We're exactly where we want to be."

"I don't even understand how things went bad so fast," Serena sighed. She leaned against the wall of the elevator.

"Um, sex video? Indecent pictures?" Blair reminded her best friend.

"But I've seen him abstain for months for you," Serena said, confused. "Blair, I still think that video was suspicious, and if Chuck said it wasn't him, then it wasn't him."

"Well, I'm one hundred percent sure it was him," Blair said knowingly. The elevator doors opened, and Blair quickly stepped out and walked down the left corridor.

"Blair, where are you headed?" Serena asked, her confusion deepening. "Why aren't we headed to the penthouse?" She had naturally assumed they would be headed to the penthouse and hadn't even bothered looking at the elevator keypad when she had entered the elevator.

"Because we're not going there," Blair answered blithely. She stopped at the door that said 4907. She smiled confidently at Serena and then knocked on the door a few times. It opened and a familiar head popped up.

"Nate?" Serena said loudly, surprised. "What are you doing here? I thought you and Chuck were on the 54th floor."

"I have no idea," Nate admitted. "And we are on the 54th floor. We're also here but don't ask me why."

"It's kind of rude not to invite us in, Archibald," Blair said as she pushed her way past Nate.

"Chuck's in here, Blair," Nate protested. "Can't we just call a truce and be friends again?" He hurried after her.

"It's in their nature," Serena sighed.

Chuck was standing at the entrance to one of the bathrooms. He had a new shirt on, and his hair and face had been washed free of the wine. His hands were on his tie, which was still undone.

"Bulimia, Chuck? Really? You had to go there?" Blair's hands were on her hips.

"Mommy and daddy issues?" Chuck countered.

"Comparing me to a prostitute?"

"Saying I have STDs?"

"Do you want to switch this time?" Serena asked Nate. "I'll hold Chuck back and you can carry Blair out. That'll probably work better."

"Saying I'm a social climber?"

"Saying no one could ever love me?"

Blair's face softened. "You know I had to say that, especially with Jack there." She bit her bottom lip softly. "Did I go too far?"

"You were _amazing_," Chuck grinned. "You couldn't see since he was behind you, but Jack bought it hook, line and sinker."

"We caught our Bass," Blair smiled triumphantly. She folded her arms around Chuck's neck, and kissed him tenderly. There was something about the way he said that word that brought shivers down her spine.

"So is this the real Chuck and Blair," Nate whispered to Serena, "and the others were the Pod Chuck and Pod Blair?"

"I think so," Serena said slowly, a mystified half smile on her face.

"I feel so dirty," Blair complained, "and not in a fun way. Did you see where his hand was?"

"The bathtub is right there," Chuck gestured. "You can wash up. I'll keep you company."

She smiled, and there was nothing more than she wanted than to spend some quality time with him. To just be with him, to talk with him and tell him how and what she was doing and to find out what was going on in his end. "I can't be here long. And you're expected back along with Serena and Nate. Is K.C. onboard?"

"Yes she is. Are you sure about it though? You know she'll be the second woman I've ever said it to."

"But you'll be pretending when you say it to her. And you mean it when you say it to me." Blair glanced wistfully at the bathtub beyond the door. It was almost too tempting, but they had a schedule to adhere to.

Two things had become blatantly clear to Nate within the last five minutes. First, Chuck and Blair had been deceiving everyone with their public breakup and fights. They were in the midst of a game that obviously involved manipulating Jack, but that was all that he could tell so far. Second, in watching and listening to them talk so softly and intimately to each other, with their bodies so close, he suddenly knew.

"Blair, drop your voice lower and say something in Thai," Nate said abruptly.

Blair turned around so that she was facing Nate and Serena, and Chuck's arms automatically protectively encircled around her waist. "Excuse me? Thai's not one of the languages I know."

"Just do it," Nate insisted, his eyes shining. "Low voice, not scary low but more like sultry low and something in Thai. I'm sure you know at least a few Thai phrases."

"I think he figured it out," Chuck whispered into her ear.

Blair tilted her head back slightly, and, in response, Chuck shrugged almost imperceptibly. It was entirely her decision on how much to confirm. "Give me something to work with," she murmured softly. "But nothing too distracting because I really should be going."

She kept her eyes in front, centered on Nate and Serena. It was impossibly hard to focus on them, though, for Chuck's light, teasing fingertips at her thigh and his warm breath at the back of her neck was begging, no, more like demanding, her to ignore Nate and Serena and to give in to him.

Serena shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

Blair could feel herself falling into temptation and losing total control. And, as appealing as that sounded to her, she simply was too self-conscious to do this with an audience. Well, with an audience that would know exactly who she was and could see everything. Soft moans of pleasure escaped from her lips, followed by phrases of a language that she had never bothered to learn. And, as Nate had requested, all in a lower voice than in her normal voice. And, because this was proving to be so pleasurable that it drove into the realm of torture, because she knew there was no time for this and it had to stop, Blair took hold of Chuck's hands and entwined her fingers in his.

"I knew it!" Nate declared. He turned to a perplexed Serena. "That sex video of Chuck and the Thai prostitute? That was of him and Blair."

"Excuse me, not a Thai prostitute," Blair corrected.

Serena's eyes widened as she finally understood what Nate had wanted confirmed. "Blair!"

"I told you it was him," Blair said defensively. "I just didn't mention it was me, too. And it's not like you could see anything, really. Except for Chuck's face a few times." But that had purposely been done so that the final straw would finally have broken them apart. It had taken them a week to perfect the video and to make sure nothing they didn't want seen to be visible. And it wasn't like either one of them minded spending a week filming it. One thing was for sure, though- immersion therapy didn't work with them.

"The sex video, pictures, all the public fights and arguments," Serena rapidly fired, "were all staged?"

"Everything," Blair nodded. "We're taking the Empire back and we're taking Jack down. He's not going to have anything or anybody after we're through with him."

In the Art of War, Sun Tzu said, "All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him."

And that was exactly what Chuck and Blair were doing.

Author's Note:

I do have a definitive plan with this story, finally. My imagination was running wild for a while and I had no idea how I would write it that way and where it would ever end but I've tamed it down to something more doable. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter- GG tv show spoilers don't look too promising for Chuck and Blair for a while. Sighs.


	5. Queen's Gambit Chapter 3

Author's Note: I'm estimating this part to be 6-8 chapters total. It was going to be longer but it was too much angst with no clear end. And I've started considering an possible storyline for a light and fluffy and sweet part 3.

**Chapter 3**

Three weeks ago, Lily and Rufus had their second wedding anniversary. They had thrown a lavish party at the Palace and hundreds of guests had arrived to celebrate with the loving couple. To the married couple's chagrin, two of their guests, the wife's adopted son and his ex-girlfriend who was also her daughter's best friend, had a loud and public fight.

Or at least it had seemed so.

One day after, Chuck Bass made a public announcement that he was in love with his publicist K.C. Cunningham. They had spent so much time together that it was only natural for them to fall in love with each other. Pictures of the loving couple were caught by the media and society had to speculate. Was this the woman who could tame the wild billionaire playboy? His past history would forever cast a dark shadow on any romance he was involved in. But their public displays of affection pointed towards yes- this couple could last.

Or at least it had seemed so

Exactly one hour and six minutes after the aforementioned public declaration of love, a distraught Blair forced herself away from her studies to ask Jack Bass if she could move with him at the Empire. Exactly thirty-two minutes after that, Blair and Dorota were packing clothes and books at the Waldorf residence so that Blair could move in to the Empire. A few hours later, Nate's old bedroom became her new bedroom and Jack was introduced to the Polish bodyguards that would tear off any of his appendages that offended their lady.

It was now three weeks after that whirlwind chain of events. And this planted them directly in the middle of the fall semester which meant midterms.

Serena and Blair were studying in Serena's bedroom. Or, more accurately, Blair was studying while Serena kept finding things to distract herself with.

It had, without her notice, become a habit for her. She never wore the diamond ring on her finger- that would invite far too many questions and speculation of an engagement. She never had it out when she was with Jack or in a public setting where the media could snap a picture of it. But right now she wasn't in public. She was in Serena's room and they were studying. Well, at least Blair was studying.

"That ring looks familiar," Serena remarked as she turned the page of her textbook. She hadn't even read a word off the book or looked at the pictures or charts on it.

"It should," Blair replied. Her eyes stayed focused on the Psychology text. In the back recesses of her mind, she could still hear his mocking words about the education from an Ivy League Psychology class versus a non Ivy League Psychology class. She continued to absentmindedly caress the ring with the tips of her thumb and index finger.

Serena pushed her book to the side and leaned forward so that her head was right next to the book Blair was reading. "I know that ring. You know I know that ring. Are you and Chuck engaged?"

This question pulled her eyes off the page. Blair shifted her attention to the side to meet Serena's curious eyes. "S, you know I would tell you if I were. You're my best friend. There is no way I would keep it from you."

"Yeah, it's not like you and Chuck kept secrets like pretending to be fighting and at war with each other," Serena said sarcastically.

"That was different," Blair objected. "We had to set things up. And once they were set up, the two of you were the first we told. Well, after Dorota. And K.C." Dorota had been a given. She had to be informed of their plans so that she could speak on their behalf to the Polish bodyguards and government.

"K.C.? Nate and I ranked beneath K.C.?" The disgust in Serena's voice was overwhelming.

"Would you have agreed to pretending to be Chuck's girlfriend? No offense, S, but even if you had been willing, I wouldn't have." Blair sighed, and resignedly placed a bookmark into her book and closed it. She was getting ahead on her reading, anyway, and could afford a break from studying.

"Why would Chuck even need a fake girlfriend?"

"It was the best solution. He was getting calls from past girls he was with but he didn't want to be with them so he kept turning them down. Come on, S, you know that makes zero sense. Him pretending to be committed to his girlfriend gets a lot of those girls off his back," Blair explained. "K.C.'s not elated about it, but she likes this plan better than him acting like he has physical problems and can't perform sexually."

"Too much information." Serena made a face.

"And him publicly declaring his love to K.C. gave me the perfect excuse to tell Jack I needed to step up our pretense and move in together at The Empire."

"Which I still don't understand," Serena frowned. "Blair, didn't Chuck tell you what Jack did to Lily at the opera? Didn't Chuck tell you what Jack would have done if Chuck hadn't been there in time?"

Blair grimaced. They had actually argued long and hard on this. "Yes. But you need to remember, there was a time when I offered myself to Jack in exchange for The Empire. And he accepted and signed all the contracts to sign The Empire back to Chuck. But then he refused to sleep with me and said he'd prefer the women he slept with to be willing."

"My mother was not willing," Serena snapped furiously. "He lied to you. He was playing you and Chuck and just trying to mess the two of you as much as he could."

"And wouldn't sleeping with me have messed us up more than refusing to sleep with me?" Blair said slowly. She and Chuck had argued so much on this issue, that it had seemed like it would be impossible for them to come to an compromise that both of them could accept. "I don't feel threatened when I'm at The Empire, S. I feel safe as can be."

"How?" Serena asked incredulously.

"Well, for one thing, Jack was introduced to Maciek and his partner. Have you met them, Serena? The two Polish guys in charge of my safety?"

"So they threatened him?"

"They basically told him he would suffer a fate worse than death if he hurt me and I told them to hurt him back," Blair nodded. "And they live in a room in The Empire a couple floors down from the penthouse. But, even with that, Chuck wasn't satisfied and wasn't willing to go with the idea of me moving in with him."

"So what happened so that he was willing to go with the ruse?"

"Do you remember that time you and Trip were caught together in the elevator at The Empire?" Blair smirked. Nate hadn't told her the story, but Chuck had found it amusing and, unlike Nate, hadn't been heads over heels in love with Serena. "There's not a spot in that entire penthouse that isn't under surveillance. Well, my bathroom, but that's it."

"There are security cameras?"

"Several per room," Blair nodded. "All the video gets fed to Maciek's room downstairs. They have someone in the room twenty-four seven to make sure the wrong people don't discover it. And, of course, Chuck still has some loyal people at The Empire. We made sure Maciek took a floor taken care by people loyal to Chuck. If Jack ever tries anything on me, they'd be there in less than two minutes. In fact, we timed it once, when we were first setting up, and it took one minutes and thirty seven seconds exactly. I'm pretty sure I can hold out for that long." It had taken them several trips, and several different guests with various aliases, to bring all their equipment in without arousing suspicion of the staff at the hotel. But setting the cameras up had been much quicker. The first few nights when there had been no cameras, due to time schedule conflicts and inability to get Jack out for long enough periods of time, had been inconvenient.

"Okay, so you're safe there. I still don't understand why you have to live in there with him anyways," Serena frowned.

"We live in an age of technology. Everything is done on the computer and all records and files are kept on the computer. Now imagine what could happen if I hid a camera near his computer and had it focused on the keyboard. Imagine rewinding the film over and over again, in slow motion, to see what his exact passwords are. Computer password, e-mail password, business accounts password- nothing's sacred. Security tells me, I get on the computer when Jack is gone, download everything on his computer, pass it to Maciek to pass to Chuck who then spends the next several days going through all the files. Anyone Jack associates with is on our list. Do you remember that guy who gave us the fake liquor license? By next week, if Nate's grandfather keeps his word, that guy will be lucky to get a job at a Best Western. We're getting all the names of Jack's connections in government or whatever other businesses and we're going to make sure they're all taken care of."

"It's going to be a bad birthday," Blair conceded. "But, hey, that's why I loaded my course schedule this year. Seven classes, twenty one credits, something I needed the Dean to personally approve, gives me the perfect excuse on why I often need to be at campus. Mix in the psych labs I have to partake in, our yoga lessons, and I barely have to spend time at The Empire with Jack."

Blair made cutting motions with her index and middle finger. "We're cutting him off completely. The lawyer that betrayed us, the crooked liquor license man, everyone. And that's not even our best weapon," Blair said coldly. She met Serena's eyes with a steely gaze and, with finality, reopened her textbook and resumed her reading.

To say that Serena was shocked would have been an understatement. She stared incredulously at her best friend. She had been on the receiving end of Blair's anger and schemes before. But beneath all of the anger, she had always known Blair was acting out of hurt and betrayal because she had felt betrayed by someone she loved. "When will it all end?"

"When Jack signs The Empire back to Chuck," Blair said icily, "without me having to compromise myself. We're doing this right this time, even if we have to get our dirty on." And things were going to get very dirty.


End file.
